InsaneJournal

Late Night Terrors [closed to Ayumi, Kuromaru]
Takes place after the Three is.. mission, two days after Bake Sale: ANBU Style and Running in Circles. Before Attack of the Ankle Biters.

Kuromaru had taken over the patrols since they'd gotten back. He and Tsume hadn't discussed it, hadn't mentioned it, either of them. It was a Pack thing; she was too tired, too worn. Too breakable at the moment, and needed what sleep she could get.

It would only last a few days. He knew her nightmare cycle well by this point; for a few days he'd take over, let her rest as much as possible, and then, without word, she'd be back.

In the meantime, it was a small enough thing to help. So he took over the nightly patrols, pacing up and down the empty corridors of the ANBU headquarters, checking for fear or anger or sickness. Anything out of place in his new Pack.

Things had changed while they'd been gone. On the main floor, one of the empty rooms was now occupied. He sniffed at the doorway before deciding it was someone who belonged; no smell of fear or the anxiousness that went with an intruder. Then he slunk past the lobby, flicking an ear at the Chuunin on guard--startled by Kuromaru's nightly checks--and started up the stairs.

Everything was normal on the second floor. Someone was up and about, the odor of weapons oil strong in the air. Another was gone, his scent several days old. Kuromaru padded up to the third floor, his intent to make one more pass around the halls before heading for another few hours' sleep. He paused at the top of the stairs, checking on Tsume. She slept on, undisturbed. He roamed down toward Kakashi's room--blood and dogs, no surprise there--then back, around the corner, nose wrinkling at the smell of shampoo. Someone was in the men's showers.

He knew the people best on these floors. Raidou and Genma were sleeping, back so recently from the same mission Tsume had been on. Ryouma was beyond them. Just past the men's showers was a door he needed to check; the scent there, so faded when he'd arrived, seemed stronger on his last pass. He suspected the person inside had returned from a long mission--months' long, from the way the smell had gone--but it was always best to double check. Make sure there was still no fear smell.

If the crotch-rotted bastard in the bathroom would stop with the shampoo, it would make Kuromaru's life easier.